Congresswoman-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says Democrats should "play hardball" against Republicans in their bid to fill the Supreme Court seat vacated by Anthony Kennedy's retirement.
Ocasio-Cortez, fresh off her stunning primary defeat of Democratic power player Rep. Joe Crowley, made the comments Thursday during an interview on CNN's "New Day" morning program.
"We should be unafraid to play hardball, a little bit, in this Congress," Ocasio-Cortez told CNN.
"After all, Republicans showed … the extent to which that they would go to be obstructionists" in the Obama administration, she said, a nod to Republicans ignoring the President Barack Obama's nomination of Merrick Garland.
"And while I don't believe that we should be halting progress in this country … we should be a force for progress, at the same time, they stole the first Supreme Court seat," Ocasio-Cortez said.
"The very least we can do is delay that damage" that will be caused once President Donald Trump nominates another conservative in the mold of Neil Gorsuch.
Of course, Democrats remain the minority in the Senate and have zero leverage at their disposal to stave off the inevitable.
Ocasio-Cortez, however, says Democrats need "to create a lot of pressure" through organization.
"In order for us to get things done in Congress, I feel we need to organize inside and outside the chamber," Ocasio-Cortez said.
"And if we only work inside the chamber, then we aren't gonna get too much done. We have to work in conjunction, organize popular support to push our priorities in the chamber. And that's really how we're going to get our agenda and our priorities passed," Ocasio-Cortez said.
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